In 2012 Google introduced it’s Pirate update, which now sees DMCA takedown requests playing a part in determining a website’s Google ranking. So how many website’s were impacted?

According to TorrentFreak.com, Google took down over 50 million search results or URLs in 2012. To be exact, Google removed 51,395,353 links from their search engine in 2012, and 7,816,766 of those were issued by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), which led the number of requests and taken downs. In fact, the search giant is currently processing half a million “infringing” links per day, and this number is increasing week after week.

Basically, Google now penalizes sites that have a high number of legitimate DMCA requests filed against them.

What is a DMCA request?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act “takedown” requests are submitted by companies who want to takedown/penalize websites that are infringing copyright. It’s not proof of copyright infringement. It’s merely an allegation, and one that can be challenged. But Google evaluates each request, and if deemed valid, content is removed.

The main contributors to the takedown requests are Hollywood and the major record labels. The music group asked Google to remove links to 7,816,766 allegedly infringing webpages this year. Filestube, The Pirate Bay and BitTorrent were the main offenders in 2012 with over 3 million DMCA request between them.

Both Hollywood and records labels want Google to increase its anti-piracy efforts in 2013 and beyond in order to put a stop to copyright infringements.

There is a staggering amount of copyright infringement taking place every day online and much of it is facilitated by Google, as their own data shows.

We couldn’t agree more with Google that this data shows that our current system is not working – for creators, or for Google. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that it also confirms the important role that Google has to play in helping curb the theft of creative works while protecting an Internet that works for everyone.

These groups would even like Google to go so far as to completely de-list popular file-sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay, and give higher ranking to authorized sites.

It will be interesting to see how much the number of DMCA infringement request increases in the coming year, and if Google announces more anti-piracy changes.

Courtney is an online marketing and communications specialist at ineedhits - a leading search engine marketing firm with over 16 years experience. Courtney has been living and breathing online marketing for over 5 years. She specializes in web and communication marketing, while providing news and opinion to online marketing communities.